Jane Kimemia is the Chief Executive Officer of Optiva Capital Partners Ltd., a Lagos-based wealth management firm. She is a Pan African business leader with over 24 years of experience, mostly in senior management positions in the financial services sector across markets in East, West, and Southern Africa. She is a graduate of Kenyatta University in Nairobi, Kenya, and has taken executive education courses at the INSEAD School of Business in Singapore. She is a qualified and experienced Project Management professional with PRINCE 2 (Projects in Controlled Environment) Foundation and Practitioner training and certification credentials.
Jane has been the Chief Executive Officer of Optiva Capital Partners for the last 4 years with the responsibility of leading and directing the execution of the Wealth Management and Investments advisory strategic agenda for Optiva Capital Partners in Nigeria. She has been instrumental in spearheading the business development and expansion strategy of the business into a fully-fledged Wealth Management proposition covering Investments Advisory, Investments Immigration, and Insurance.
In addition, Jane leads the funding and transaction advisory part of the business dealing with the structuring of transactions and working with networks of investor interests in fundraising for various projects in line with their strategic direction and interest. She has been the lead arranger on transactions across different sectors of the economy in trade, healthcare, oil & gas, commercial infrastructure, etc.
Prior to this, Jane had built a long career in the financial services sector building sustainable businesses and held regional leadership, strategy, and execution roles in 2 notable global financial institutions; Standard Chartered Bank where she worked for 8 years, and previously in Barclays Bank (Now ABSA Bank) for over 12 years in the East African region. She held different roles over this time covering a broad spectrum of clients and business segments including Retail Banking, Business Banking, Corporate and Investment Banking, and a range of products including lending, transactional, and investment banking solutions for clients across the region.
She has built extensive networks with captains of industry in the Private Sector and in Governments, with people driving investments, trade, and wealth creation across markets in East, West, and Southern Africa. Jane has major strengths in building relationships and networking with a track record and skills in building sustainable partnerships and negotiating positive outcomes for parties at the highest level of Government & institutions and in the private sector.
The following are some of the key roles she has held over the course:
• Executive Director & Head of Wealth Management (Investment Banking, Bancassurance, and Forex) Standard Chartered, East Africa Region covering Kenya, Uganda & Tanzania.
• Managing Director Standard Chartered Investment Services (SCIS) Kenya
• Managing Director Standard Chartered Insurance Agencies Limited (SCIAL) Kenya
• General Manager Priority and International Banking at Standard Chartered East Africa Region- Kenya, Uganda & Tanzania
• Regional Project Manager executing projects in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Seychelles, and Mauritius.
Moreover, Jane is the founder and Chair of the Board for Everlasting Foundation a not-for-profit program supporting teenage and young adults based in Kibera slums in Nairobi, Kenya, one of the biggest informal settlements (slums) in Sub-Saharan Africa. The foundation was founded on 3 pillars, their Spirituality, Mentorship, and their Support. The foundation has a permanent membership of over350 members along with several committees looking into various aspects of the welfare of the members and the community e.g., distribution of food, and sanitary towels to the girls, setting up of a library, and general outreach.
